Delaware Fishing Reports
2 reports for Delaware — what's biting, water temps, and where to focus.
Wayfinder · Delaware
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Tides, buoys, gauges, weather, and recent reports — read for your trip date.
DE · Delaware Bay
Delaware Bay striper run firing — 48-inch fish on bloodworms, drum building
Higbee's Bait and Tackle was flooded with photos from Fortescue Beach all week — stripers from slot-size keepers up to 48 inches, with bloodworms the clear top producer. Hands Too Bait and Tackle confirms the same pattern on the Delaware Bay shoreline near Cape May, reporting stripers to 40 inches on bloodworms and clam baits, with early morning tides delivering the best windows. Smith's Bait Shop (per The Fisherman — DE/MD/Chesapeake) corroborates the spread, noting bass above, below, and within the 28-to-31-inch slot at Collins Beach, Greens Beach, and Woodland Beach on bloodworms and cut bunker. Black drum have joined the party as well: Hands Too Bait reports fish to 20 pounds on fresh shucked surf clams along the Delaware Bay shoreline, and Big Dave's Tackle notes drumfish are growing increasingly prominent in the daily catch. NOAA buoy 44009 recorded light winds around 10 knots and air temperatures near 58°F early this morning; water temperature data was unavailable.
2d ago
DE · Christina & Nanticoke
Crappie Lead Delaware Freshwater as Spring Flows Recede
Crappie are running hot across Delaware's interior ponds this week — The Fisherman — NJ/DE Freshwater reports Horsey's Pond, Massey Mills, and Garrisons Lake all producing solid action on small minnows and jig combos fished under floats during early evenings. Largemouth bass are also showing at those same venues, with livelined minnows the go-to presentation. In the tidal reaches of the Nanticoke drainage, The Fisherman — DE/MD/Chesapeake reports white perch and catfish working the creeks and spillways on bloodworms and minnows. USGS gauge 01493500 recorded just 3.27 cfs overnight — a very lean flow that points to clear, low-water conditions across the watershed. No temperature reading was available from the gauge, but mid-spring warming trends suggest Delaware's shallows are advancing toward the crappie-to-bass transition window. With water running clear and thin, finesse presentations and low-light timing will reward patient anglers far more than midday runs.
2d ago